The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years, a decline that the exam's owner, the College Board, said was partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice. Fatigue wasn't to blame, the College Board insisted, even though this year's class was the first to take a new version of the exam which added an essay. It now takes an average of three hours and 45 minutes to complete the test, not counting breaks, up from three hours previously. The results come several months after numerous colleges reported surprisingly low SAT scores for this year's incoming college freshmen. The nonprofit College Board, which had said scores would be down this year, released figures Tuesday showing combined critical reading and math skills fell seven points on average to 1021.... http://www.cnn.com

Italy's male MPs, who occupy more than five out of six seats in parliament, will face demands from their female colleagues for a change in the law that would have far-reaching effects on the family. Women MPs have tabled 13 bills to try to change the law on surnames, which even Italy's conservative judiciary has criticised for being outdated. Nine of the proposed laws have the backing of legislators of the left and right. Currently an Italian child must take the family name of his or her father, unless the identity of the father is unknown. In February the constitutional court said the law did not allow it to overturn a decision by Milan city council to refuse to allow a couple to give their daughter her mother's surname. Italians cannot create double-barrelled surnames to keep alive a maternal family name, nor can single Italian mothers give their last names to their children. ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1860578,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

The fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon may be over, but the war of words is continuing. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday jeered Hassan Nasrallah, saying the Hezbollah chief can't be claiming victory while still in hiding. "Someone who doesn't come out of his bunker is not a person who thinks that he's won," Olmert said. Meanwhile, on a visit to Denmark Tuesday, Israel's foreign minister said that Hezbollah was weakened by the month-long fighting in Lebanon and blamed the group for the suffering of the Lebanese people. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/29/world/main1945302.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1945302

The fugitive leader of a polygamist Mormon sect who was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List has been arrested in southern Nevada. Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was taken into custody after he and two other people were pulled over late Monday by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas, FBI spokesman David Staretz said. Jeffs didn't have any identification during a routine traffic stop, and was taken to the a local detention center where his identity was confirmed, CBS News Los Vegas affiliate KLAS-TV reports. The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was wanted in Utah and Arizona on suspicion of sexual misconduct for allegedly arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/29/national/main1945344.shtml?source=RSS&attr=U.S._1945344

Latin America and the Caribbean face a greater risk of more natural disasters because of environmental degradation and climate change, campaigners warn. A report by a coalition of environment and aid groups said the region's weather was becoming less predictable and often more extreme. Evidence showed many areas were more vulnerable because depleted ecosystems were struggling to adapt, they argued. The groups said efforts to end poverty were being undermined as a result. The report, Up in Smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean, presented evidence it said showed that the livelihoods of millions of people in the region were at risk, including: ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5290818.stm

The dollar declined on speculation a report today will show U.S. consumer confidence fell to the lowest this year, making it less likely the Federal Reserve will resume raising interest rates. The currency is heading for a monthly loss against the euro as traders bet the European Central Bank will raise its benchmark rate in October, while the Fed remains on hold for the rest of the year. The Fed this month broke a two-year cycle of lifting rates, saying higher oil prices and a sagging housing market will restrain spending and limit inflation. ``All things at the moment point toward a weaker U.S. dollar,'' said Nigel Russell, director of foreign exchange institutional sales at SG Australia Ltd. in Sydney. ``Consumer confidence will definitely be lower.'' ...http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6IRNV2KyaYA&refer=worldwide_news